Conversation with Melba Sandi

Multi-Faceted Creative & Blogger

I recently had the pleasure to interview Melba Sandi a gifted Tanzanian creative! Her personal journey to creativity inspired me in many ways to start and being more consistent in regards to my own creative journey and I hope her words will have the same impact on your path.

Her journey to creativity has been nothing less than a great journey to self-discovery and of self-confidence. Her creative work is not only something she takes pride in it is in accordance with herself. It is only when she decided to really get to know herself and her needs that she subsequently lived more authentically, started being more consistent and that great opportunities encountered her way.

We talked about the struggle of balancing a full-time job with your passion, the good and the bad of being creative, how creating enhances her life and how powerful travelling is in striking creative inspiration. I hope her journey will inspire you to dare to live genuinely too! Be sure to follow her blog: EverythingMelba.

Why is creativity so important to you? What role does it play in your life?

Creativity is so important to me, it is who I am quite simply, I could not imagine my life without it. It is a matter of sanity, identity and confidence. It is powerful how throughout creativity I gain peace and comfort. It is one of the things that help me acquire a greater sense of well-being. Creativity keeps me sane and it helps me express myself. It is my escape and my happy place at the same time. Therefore, I think it is one of the most beautiful things that have encountered my path.

Moreover, this creative journey I have decided to embark on has been humanely extremely rewarding. It has helped me connect with like-minded people, with inspiring people I would not have been able to meet otherwise. It is funny how when you dare to be true to yourself there is always unexpected good things that come out of it.

Creativity has helped me find my voice as an individual. When you give time to do things that you truly aspire to, take the time to understand what it is that brings you joy, you, in turn, become so proud when you see the result of your work. Creativity has also helped me come up with a business idea I am extremely excited about, something that I’m actively working on and that I will reveal later this year if everything goes as planned.

When and why did you start writing?

As far as when I was in primary school I have always been writing; I always liked it. I’m an introvert I guess that’s where it comes from. It is a way for me to express myself freely, without any judgements. At the time, it was my escape place, my honest place. So I would write about my day, my state of mind, or when something has impacted me to clear out my ideas for my own well-being. So it has also been a great therapeutic tool.

I can say that fell in love with writing, I don’t keep a journal anymore but continue to write and I blog too. But it is a process I’d rather not force, it comes quite naturally in total honesty, and when it comes it is always a fulfilling even when it is hard, I always learn something out of it and that is why I keep on writing.

What would be your advice to someone willing to start being more creative?

Please start now, you do not need to have it all figure out. Start where you are, with what you already have as little as you think it is.

Never slow down or get discouraged as well. When you put something out there it is easy to get discouraged when your work does not get the response you wanted it to. But keep on doing what you do out of love simply. Always remind yourself of the reasons you started at first. Was it only out of popularity? Plus, you never know what the world has to offer you and how many doors will open for you in the future. We have to start somewhere and work hard to get somewhere.

Above everything else, believe in yourself, in your magic, in your art, in your work. I am convinced that everyone is unique, everyone has something to offer.

You have a demanding full-time job. How do you find the time and motivation to feed in your passions, to do more than going to work then coming back home?

All of those creative things that I am doing – writing poetry, creating DIY’s, blogging – are coming to me quite naturally, it is not something I force myself into doing t I do it with love and passion. Therefore, even if sometimes life gets in the way I try my best to make time for it. I schedule, it is about managing your time effectively. For instance, I have a lot of time on the weekends to create blog posts so that’s exactly what I am doing.

When it comes to motivation, it is also a struggle. I have my days sometimes I cannot find the strength or motivation to do a thing. But because it is important for me to stay committed I always try as hard.

I guess it is a matter of vision and of confidence. I mean if your foundation is solid and thick, if you are confident in yourself you will do what it takes to stay focus.

What about travelling? You travelled quite a bit throughout Tanzania. Tell me more about that. Why do you enjoy discovering your country and why is it important to you?

It is beautiful to experience a different weather and meet different people I like the whole idea of changing environments. Travelling is important to me because it comes with an experience, with a lesson, with a new story to tell and new exciting ideas and projects to work on. It is always enriching, Travelling actually does influence and inspire my creative works. It enables me to see the world from another point of view. I would say just like creativity, travelling is also some sort of a therapy to freshen up and learn at the same time and ain’t nothing wrong with that! (laughs)

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